1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk device comprising a stock unit for storing multiple disks and a rotational driving unit, wherein the rotational driving unit is shifted to a position at which the rotational driving unit is overlapped with a disk in the stock unit, and the selected disk is clamped by the rotational driving unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a disk-selecting-type disk device (disk changer) for being mounted on a vehicle or the like, disks are stored in multiple stock units, a disk in the stock unit is selected, transferred to a rotational driving unit, then clamped, and is rotationally driven.
In a well-known arrangement of this type of disk-selecting-type disk device, the stock unit is provided within a case along with the rotational driving unit, and operations are conducted such that the rotational driving unit is moved to a position so as to overlap with a disk in the stock unit, thereby enabling reception of the disk from the stock unit following the disk being selected.
In this case, following selection of a disk in the stock unit, the rotational driving unit is first moved to the driving position so as to overlap with the disk in the stock unit, and subsequently, the selected disk is pushed out by the a push-out member provided within the stock unit from the rear end thereof, whereby the disk is sent to the position wherein the disk can be clamped with the rotational driving unit; or, the disk holding unit is withdrawn by a drawing member provided on the rotational driving unit side so that the disk is sent to the position to be clamped with the rotational driving unit.
With this disk device, the rotational driving unit moves to the recording position so as to overlap with the disk within the stock unit and drives the disk at that position. Accordingly, the size of the case can be reduced, and the device can be built into a dashboard of a vehicle.
However, in the configuration wherein a disk in the stock unit is pushed out with a push-out member so as to send the disk to the rotational driving unit, the outer edge of the disk sent to the rotational driving unit side may vertically vibrate while sending the disk, and accordingly the outer edge of the disk may hit structures making up the rotational driving unit or other structures in the case, thereby hindering sending of the disk to the rotational driving unit. Also, the configuration wherein the disk holding unit itself is withdrawn with the drawing member necessitates a complicated configuration of the stock unit.
Further, in an arrangement used for mounting on a vehicle, the portion of the disk stored in the stock unit protruding from the stock unit may vertically vibrate due to the vibrations of the vehicle, resulting in the outer edge of the disk stored in the stock unit hitting other structures within the device, and in a worst-case scenario, the outer edge of the disk may be snared by the other structures. In the event that such a phenomenon occurs, the operations such as selection of a disk in the stock unit, sending of a disk from the stock unit, or the like, cannot be performed, and furthermore, the snared disk cannot be discharged from the case.
The present invention has been made in light of the above problems, and accordingly, it is an object thereof to provide a disk device which can transport a disk within the stock unit to the rotational driving unit without trouble such as the disk hitting or being snared by structures of the rotational driving unit or other structures.
A disk device according to the present invention comprises: a stock unit in which multiple disk holders are arrayed in the direction of the thickness of a disk; a selecting unit for transferring the disk holders in the stacking direction and transferring one of multiple disk holders to a selecting position; a rotational driving unit for clamping a disk; and a transporting unit for transporting a disk between a disk holder at the selecting position and the rotational driving unit, wherein the transporting unit comprises a pair of nipping members for nipping a disk held by a disk holder transferred to the selecting position by the outer edge so as to provide transporting force to the disk; a spacing setting unit for changing spacing between the nipping members which face each other; and a position changing unit for moving the position of the rotational driving unit. The disk device further comprises a control unit for performing operations wherein, prior to performing selecting operations wherein the selecting unit is operated so that a disk holder is transferred, the spacing setting unit is operated so that the nipping members are separated from the outer edge of a disk, and the position changing unit is operated so that the rotational driving unit is moved to a retracted position so as not to overlap with the disk held by the disk holder, and in the event that one of the disk holders moves to the selection position and stops, (1) first, the spacing between the pair of nipping members is decreased so as to nip a disk by the nipping members, (2) following completion of the nipping, the rotational driving unit is moved to a driving position at which the rotational driving unit is overlapped with the disk held by the disk holder, and (3) furthermore, the disk held by the disk holder at the selecting position is transported to a position at which the disk can be clamped by the rotational driving unit by the transporting force of the nipping members.
With the disk device of the present invention, upon the disk holder being transferred to the selecting unit, the rotational driving unit is moved to the driving position at which the rotational driving unit is overlapped with the disk, following nipping of the disk held by this disk holder by nipping members with the outer edge side so that the disk is correctly positioned. Accordingly, the disk at the selecting position can be prevented from vibrating prior to the rotational driving unit moving to the driving position, and thus interference between the disk and the rotational driving unit can be prevented.
Also, following nipping of the disk by the nipping unit, the spacing of the nipping unit may be further decreased, and subsequently increased so that the nipping unit can provide the transporting force, after which the movement described in (2) is performed. According to such a configuration, even in the event that trouble occurs if a portion of a disk stored in the stock unit and protruding therefrom is snared by a structure within the device due to vehicle vibrations or the like, the outer edge of the disk can be forcibly freed from the structure by decreasing the width between the nipping members.
Accordingly, with the present invention, the disk holder holds the disk in a state wherein a portion of the disk protrudes toward the rotational driving unit side, and the operations described in the above-described (1) are useful for an arrangement having a configuration wherein a portion of the disk protruding from the disk holder is nipped at the outer edge thereof by the nipping members.
Moreover, with the present invention, an insertion opening for inserting a disk may be provided in the device, with the rotational driving unit and the stock unit being disposed inside the insertion opening in that order, and the nipping members being disposed so as to move from the insertion opening, pass through the rotational driving unit at the driving position, and reach the stock unit, thus realizing a compact structure for the device.